Recap of the webinar “The S in ESG – the underestimated S” from 27 May 2026 by unfold consulting & akaryon
Social sustainability – underestimated, but mandatory
While companies have long been working with carbon footprints on the topic of climate protection, the S in ESG – social sustainability – often still leads a shadowy existence. Yet it is becoming increasingly relevant from both a regulatory and business perspective. This was impressively demonstrated by the joint webinar hosted by unfold consulting and akaryon.
Why has the S in ESG received less attention so far?
Social topics are harder to measure than environmental data – there is no universal unit like the tonne of CO₂. Add to this internal silos (HR data is kept separate from sustainability reporting), complex impact chains, and regulation that is only now catching up in the social domain.
Increasing regulatory pressure
This regulatory pressure is significant and comes from multiple directions at once: CSRD, the EU Pay Transparency Directive, CSDDD, and the “Women on Boards” Directive all interact and make social KPIs mandatory for an increasing number of companies. The ESRS standards S1 to S4, which stem from the CSRD, require disclosures in the areas of own workforce, workers in the value chain, affected communities, and consumers/end-users.
And the business case?
Social measures are not a nice-to-have – they directly impact business performance. In the competition for talent, a company’s social performance becomes a recruitment advantage. Organisations that integrate their employees well into the company increase engagement. Those that can provide auditable social KPIs can also benefit from improved financing conditions from banks.
Understanding social sustainability strategy and regulation with unfold
unfold consulting highlighted the strategic and regulatory perspective: why the S in ESG is still underestimated, which legal requirements companies are facing, and why social KPIs are no longer just a compliance topic, but a key lever for talent, performance, and access to capital.
Collecting social data with ESG-Cockpit and ESG-Portal
akaryon demonstrated how social data in the supply chain can be efficiently collected via a supplier portal that feeds raw data directly into ESG-Cockpit and automatically aggregates auditable KPIs. No email chains with Excel attachments, no manual transfer.
Materials for the webinar “The S in ESG – the underestimated S”
Webinar recording
The webinar can be rewatched via the provided link.
Presentation slides
The slides are also available for download.
Take the next steps in social reporting with us
Interested in a check of your current data situation in the ‘Social’ pillar and in getting to know a solution to make social data reporting-ready?
unfold consulting offers a free quick check of your social data landscape.
akaryon shows how social KPIs can be systematically captured in ESG-Cockpit and prepared for reporting.
For more information, also visit: https://www.unfold-consulting.eu/webinare/sinesg-recording-form